The Story: Partner Style
by Maddiepink5
Summary: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2- told from the partner's point of view. Embark on an adventure with Ivy the Chikorita and Rito the Shinx on an unforgettable adventure. And maybe learn a little more about the familiar story.  In the process of being rewritten! Look for the new and improved chapters!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Thank you very much!"

I walked away from the Kecleon Brothers' store, munching away on my Apple. I needed to save my strength. Today was the day I was going to join the Guild, of course. I had tried before, and it was pretty scary looking, but by tonight I knew I would be an official explorer!

I was scared.

Now normally, the great Rito was not scared. But there were stories. Stories about Wigglytuff's Guild. They say that the training is rigorous, and the Guildmaster is fearsome. Nobody will even tell me what happens if you make the Guildmaster mad…

I shook my head to try and clear the thoughts. It was time to do this- time to be strong. Looking up the steps to the Guild, I took a deep breath to unsuccessfully calm my nerves, and then headed up slowly. The last thing I needed now was to make a fool of myself and fall on simple steps.

What I saw there in the falling sunlight was Wigglytuff's Guild in all its glory. Even from the outside, it was intimidating. Two totem poles rested on each side, and a torch carrying crackling fire flanked each. Smack in the middle of the setup was what appeared to be a teepee of Wigglytuff's head. A scary iron gate barred the way in. Maybe there was a button or something.

I stepped forward.

"Pokémon alert! Pokémon alert!" a voice screamed below. I jumped about…ten feet in the air? Scared out of my wits, I looked down to see some sort of grate below me, leading to what at the time looked like the darkness that would be the death of me. My feet moved faster than my mind, though as soon as my mind caught up it agreed with immediate flight. As I ran away, I faintly heard behind me, "False alarm, just another psycho!"

I panted upon reaching the bottom of the long staircase, then looked around me. In the fading sunlight, I could see barely any Pokemon around, but I scurried to the beach, not taking any chances. If I headed home tonight, surely someone who I had bragged to about joining the Guild would see me. _Damn it_, I thought bitterly as I crossed onto the sand, though I was more startled and upset than angry. I had come so close this time! I had actually taken a step forward! But as soon as somebody spooked me, I fled. What a big baby I was.

Settling myself on the smooth sand, I stared out onto the setting sun. Its gentle light and reflection off the waves managed to calm me down some. When a bubble drifted into my vision, I looked slightly up. Perched on the cliff above me were several Krabby, blowing big, beautiful bubbles. Bubbles, waves, sunset…

I sat back, taking it in. "I always come here when I'm feeling down..." I muttered happily to myself. Not many other Pokemon knew of this restful haven. Deciding to find to get closer to the surf, I got up and…what was that? I turned my head back to the flash of green I had seen out of the corner of my eye. Was that a...Pokémon? Immediately, I ran up closer to find that it was a Pokemon. This was…uh…a Chikorita. Clearly female, by the conservative way she curled up on the beach. So what was a courageous, helpful Shinx like me going to do for a young, helpless maiden?

Well...I panicked.

I did the first thing that came to my mind- I shook the Chikorita desperately, having never been in such a panicked state before. "Hey? ...Wake up! Please...wake up!"

The Chikorita stayed still. Sweat began to pour down my face, and as I was about to perform a crude form of mouth-to-moth resuscitation, she began to stir. I stepped back and watched her eyes open, grinning as she slowly drew into an upright sitting position.

"Huh...?" the Chikorita mumbled, glancing about her surroundings with a nervous and confused gaze.

"Oh thank Arceus! You woke up!" I exclaimed, then gave her a half-grin. "I probably woulda passed out if you hadn't woken up when you did."

An awkward silence ensued, in which she stared directly into my eyes with her big red ones. When it was starting to get creepy, she suddenly asked with a confused frown, "Why are you talking?"

Now it was my turn to be confused. "Uh, yeah, you come from a mute village or something?" She gave me another confused look, desperation obvious on her face. I felt bad; nobody usually wakes up randomly on the beach. "Uhm…sorry…look, my name's—"

I stopped talking as I watched her turn around and around, looking at herself, as though she were a Lillipup chasing her tail. Of course, however, she wore a look of complete fear and disbelief. I felt obligated to say something. "Uh…are you alright? You were just unconscious here, when I found you—"

"What do I look like to you?" the Chikorita suddenly asked frantically, staring right into my eyes once again.

I stumbled over my words before replying, "…A Chikorita. You look like a perfectly normal Chikorita. Now, as I was saying, are yo—"

The Chikorita let out a small yelp of despair before running over to the surf and staring right down into it. I scratched my head with a paw, wondering how I even got into this weird situation to begin with. Finally, the Chikorita slowly came back over. Her face was an expression of complete calm, except for her eyes opened wide in shock as she stared at some point in space.

"I am a Chikorita," she said quietly to herself as I watched nervously. "I am a Chikorita…" She closed her eyes tight and looked at the ground. "But…I'm not a Chikorita…"

"Are you mentally sound?" I finally deadpanned, putting a paw on her back. Sure, I can understand the confusing circumstances, but this was just nonsense. My sarcastic demeanor slipped once again when she looked up with tears in her eyes. I was not the one in trouble here, I reminded myself. Try to communicate, I pushed myself.

"Ah…I meant…what do you mean, you're not a Chikorita?" I tried.

Thankfully, I got a response. "I'm not a Chikorita. I'm a human."

Well, not the response I was expecting.

"WHAT? A human? But you're not! I can see you perfectly clearly…"

"Please, try to understand," she interrupted. "I know I'm not a Chikorita. This is…somehow…I got turned into a Pokemon. Please, believe me." Those tearful red eyes, with a smidgen of hope, accompanied her plea.

To this day, I still don't know what happened there. It was certainly farfetched, the idea of a human waking up as a Pokemon one day. Maybe it was because I lived amongst good Pokemon who rarely lied. Maybe it was because this Chikorita herself had no reason to lie to me. I don't know. But I do know that in that moment, for whatever reason, I put my full trust in her words.

"Yes. I believe you," I stated seriously. The Chikorita's face flooded with relief, and I smiled back at her, glad to have relieved some of her stress. I took this as an okay to continue. "So. What's happened? Can you tell me why you're here? And how you became a Pokemon?"

Her face became thoughtful at my words, then dismayed as she looked up at me. "I…I can't. I don't remember anything."

I frowned, thinking. "You don't remember anything? Nothing at all? Besides being a human?"

She took a deep breath. "Let me try…" I watched as she closed her eyes tightly, not daring to break her train of thought. When she opened them, she gave me a half hearted smile. "Only one thing…"

I smiled reassuringly. "That's alright. Better than nothing. What is it?"

"My name. My name..." She took another deep breath. "My name is Ivy."

Having taken on the role of comforter at this point, I gave another smile, this one big, and it brought out a small smile from her too. "Ivy. That's a beautiful name. Good thing you could remember it."

Ivy nodded, and I caught the sparkle of hope in her eyes as the sun dipped below the horizon.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Yes, she had a glimmer of hope in her eye…

"Well, uh, if you didn't hear me earlier, I'm Rito."

"Rito. Nice name."

Then it was dusk, and an awkward silence ensued. A Krabby then proceeded to sidestep right into my leg, somehow knocking me completely to the ground. I grumbled at it as it quickly sidestepped away in embarrassment, then feeling an absence in the small pouch at my side, started glancing around frantically. "Where is it? Where's my Relic Fragment?!"

"This?" I heard from behind me. Ivy was standing right next to a rough rock that almost reached our torsos. I gave a sigh of relief, starting to try and put it back in my bag, before Ivy stuck her leg out.

"Hold on," she said. I obliged, and she looked closely at it, with a kind of interest only I ever had. To everyone else, it was just a rock. "What is it?" Ivy asked, looking up at me curiously.

"That," I said proudly, finally catching the ear of someone who actually cared about my treasure. "is my Relic Fragment. It looks like a big rock, but…" I nudged it with my nose, flipping over to reveal a flat, intricately decorated side. Ivy "oohed" in approval, so I continued, "I'm not sure what it is, but I think it's something valuable. It's my dream to be on an exploration team and discover its secret!" Once again, I was interrupted from putting my precious away by another question.

"What's an exploration team?"

My jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I lost my memory?"

Woops. Right.

"Oh, yeah... So, an exploration team finds treasures, and new lands, and saves Pokémon...it's astounding!" I was surprised that upon hearing my words, there was a sparkle in her eye. Did it get her excited too? Before she could say anything, though, I tripped again...no, wait, I hadn't even been moving! I heard Ivy gasp as I stood up, and right away two Pokémon were in my face. They had knocked me to the ground, and I could already tell they were bad news.

"Ha-ha, this guy is a wimp, huh Zubat?"

"You said it Koffing. His friend is too scared to help either!"

I could see, out of the corner of my eye, Ivy, frozen with fear. She looked the way I felt. However, I just had to keep cool. _Keep calm_, I told myself.

"Wh-what do you want?" I nearly cried.

"Woah-ho!" Koffing replied. "We already got what we wanted!" What?

And then I saw it. While Koffing replied to me, Zubat picked up my Relic Fragment!

I could see that Ivy looked angrier now then scared, but seemed indecisive. As for me, I simply couldn't move. My sole treasure was being stolen in front of my eyes, and I couldn't do anything about it!

"Woah-ho-ho! If you want to do anything about it, wimp, then come and catch us!" Then they bolted into a nearby cavern.

After they disappeared, all my air left my lungs, and I collapsed to the ground, trying to keep from crying. "Oh, no. What am I going to do? That Relic Fragment means everything to me!" I moaned. This really, really sucked, big time. Ivy walked over to me. I looked up at her, the mix of anger and fear written across her face. We felt one and the same about this.

It popped out of my mouth without me thinking it. "Uh, Ivy? Do you think you could help me...get that back?"

Ivy looked unsure, then seemed to resolve her decision internally. "I can tell you loved it, and you helped me, so...yes," she said, clearly trying to be confident. I cheered nervously. "Let's go!" I said, surprising myself with my confident voice. Ivy nodded, and we ran after the punks into Beach Cave.

As soon as we entered, we found ourselves in a small cavern three branching paths. I turned to make sure I could still bolt for the exit, but when I didn't see it. I took a deep breath.

"Ivy, meet the mystery dungeon. Mystery dungeon, meet a human-turned Pokemon with amnesia who is helping out a Shinx she barely knows."

Ivy gave a confused giggle. "What's a mystery dungeon?"

I hesitantly started down a passage to the right. There was not room for us to go side-by-side, so Ivy followed me as I gave my little speech. "A mystery dungeon is a crazy place. Their layout is different every time, and you can find lots of items and treasure at the end! However, due to time being screwed up, lots of bad Pokemon have been appearing in these dungeons lately."

"Time being screwed up?"

"Yes," I replied as I jumped over a puddle and emerged into another small cavern, Ivy following suit. "Time is being screw-OW!" I rubbed my side where a small stone had smacked into it, both Ivy and I turning towards the source. At the other end of the chamber, a Shellos stood with a naughty smirk on its face, preparing to launch another stone.

"That's not nice…!" Ivy muttered just loud enough for me to hear. Although she was quiet, anger was evident in both her face and tone.

I began to tremble. "Look out, Ivy…I think we're gonna have to fight." She looked at me hesitantly, then gave a sigh of resignation.

"Whatever we can to get your treasure back," Ivy said confidently, starting towards the Shellos. I blinked in surprise, an expression quickly replaced with one of delight. Nobody had ever showed such interest in me before. I ran up alongside Ivy, and we stared down the Shellos. The tension was thick…and then Ivy launched herself at Shellos, who was knocked back with a surprised look on its face and a big bruise on its neck.

"Ivy!" I gasped in surprise.

"Think of your treasure!" Ivy called, not taking her eyes off Shellos. It got up slowly, and with a death glare on its face, let out a high-pitched call. A Corsola emerged from the entrance Ivy and I had come through, and a Kabuto came from the one nearest Shellos. I gulped, and tried to use a move-any move. My face suddenly had a mind of its own, and I leered at the bruised Shellos, who cowered a bit. Ivy backed up a bit until all three of our foes were in her vision, then let out a surprisingly scary growl, and they all hesitated before launching into attack of their own.

Bubbles and water flew from Shellos and Corsola. They targeted Ivy, so I jumped in front of her, just in time to protect her from the last of the watery attacks. She seemed mostly unfazed, just wet, and I had a little sting in my side. However, that was a minor feeling. I was doing it! Exploring like I had wanted to my whole life! And it was exhilarating!

At that moment I learned that daydreaming was a bad choice during a battle. Kabuto launched itself into my side, and as I fell, my eyes narrowed. It. Was. On!

I'm not quite sure what happened after that. I do remember the satisfying feeling of knocking a sucker clean out. It felt good to be strong! To not be a…baby…

After Ivy tackled Corsola into unconsciousness, a small blue berry bounced out of its grasp. Ivy reached down to nibble it, but I ran over frantically.

"No, no! Don't eat it!" Ivy flinched visibly right before taking a bite, glancing at me nervously. I panted. "That's…an Oran Berry. If we get really hurt, THEN we can eat it."

Ivy picked it up and carried it with the very tip of the leaf on her head. Then she giggled sadly. "We're not already hurt?" she asked, showing an impressive bruise on her right foreleg. I winced.

"Well, we can go to my house and fix it up…" I started, a bit disappointed. To my surprise, Ivy laughed, a small, airy giggle.

"I'm not stopping now," she said firmly, despite the quietness that seemed to be her definitive manner of speaking. I grinned.

"If you're going, I'm going."

We seemed to grow years based off that very first battle. Our stroll was more confident, even as we got deeper, even as the area got dank and damp. The Pokemon we face were not nearly as strong as the first we had faced, and were easily taken out by Ivy and I combined. It was sort of strange, in a way. Having strength felt amazing, no doubt, but it felt even better to have a partner, regardless of having just met her. I couldn't figure out why, but every so often when one of us finished off an attacker, or smiled reassuringly at the other, I got Butterfree in my tummy.

Then, we reached the bottom. Zubat and Koffing were there, hanging out in the dead end. They rose from a position along the pit's wall, looking at each other in disbelief and then at us with a smirk.

"Whoa-ho-ho! Looks like Wimpy and company actually tracked us down!"

"Heh-heh-heh! Guess we got to teach 'em a lesson, eh, Koffing?"

"My thoughts exactly!"

And suddenly, an intimidating growl from Ivy interrupted Koffing and Zubat's dialogue. I marveled. She had some sort of innate talent at exploring and fighting. What I wouldn't give for that!

"K-kh…" Koffing stuttered, glaring at Ivy. "You insolent little twerp! You can't mess with Team Skull like that!" Koffing gave off a big black cloud of smoke, right at Ivy, who started to cough and turned a sickly green. My leering gaze turned on her attacker, but Zubat knocked me to the ground while I wasn't looking.

"Heh! Looks like we were worried for nothing, Koffing! Let's get 'em!" Zubat scoffed. Koffing gave off that creepy laugh, and my blood began to boil. I stood up slowly, and then hurled myself through the air, smack on top of Koffing with a Tackle that hit him hard. When I backed off, I saw another shape flying through the air- it was Ivy, using my exact technique to throw herself on top of Koffing and finishing my job. We exchanged a grin- and then Ivy fell to the floor in a coughing fit. Zubat's worried look went to one of pleasure.

"Looks like Koffing's poison gas did a num—"

"Oh shut up already!" I exclaimed angrily, throwing my side into Zubat and knocking him out of the air. When Ivy appeared by my side, though, I nearly jumped in surprise.

"Ivy, aren't you…?"

She responded with a wink, unfurling her now empty leaf. "I'll be fine for a bit!"

And with our combined forces, we proceeded to completely obliterate Zubat. With both of our foes barely able to stay conscious, Ivy and I stepped back, panting but grinning.

"Whoa-ho-ho...err...we better make a break for it, Zubat!" Koffing exclaimed in a panic. Zubat nodded and hastily dropped my Relic Fragment, and then before you could say "Retreat", they were gone.

Exhausted, I picked up my Relic Fragment. Ivy giggled, and I turned to her. "Thanks for helping me," I said, embarrassed, as I put the Relic Fragment away.

She shook her head. "You were great," she said. Was that...admiration? Did she really believe I was better than her?

"You know you were way better than me, right? For a human, you sure know how to battle!" Ivy laughed, and started heading forward through the next door. To our surprise, we found that it was a cliff that curled to the opposite side of the cave we had entered on, with a small jump onto the sand.

"Wow," I mumbled, looking at the cliff we had jumped from. From here, it looked like a small cliff that really didn't lead to anywhere. Nobody would know it was the exit, and besides, it was behind the large cave, the opening being left end of the beach. After a five minute walk, which was mostly heavy breathing, we found ourselves on the beach where we had started.

Once we were out on the beach again, I stopped Ivy. "Ivy? Could you look at me, please?"

Ivy turned curiously to meet my eyes. "Yes, Rito?"

I smiled through my exhaustion. "I just wanted to say…thanks. I don't think I could have done it without you…" Ivy shook her head, smiling gently.

"I'm just glad you got your treasure back. I was just giving a little assistance."

"Well, it meant a lot to me." And it did. "So, what now? Do you wanna stay at my place for the night?"

Ivy pondered this thought, then sighed and looked at the ground. "Sounds fun, I guess, but after that I'll have to leave…I wish I had at least some of my memory…" She sighed again.

I don't know what came over me. I personally think it might have been that my treasure was back at my side, or maybe it was the rush I was still feeling. What it probably was, though, was the kinship Ivy and I almost immediately had.

Whatever the case, I blurted out, "Would you like to start an exploration team with me?"

She looked up at me, and I saw the same sparkle in her eye when I had told her about exploration teams before. "Can…can we do that? How does one become an exploration team?"

I grinned at her. "We start by becoming apprentices at an exploration guild," I told her. "And I know the perfect place."

*******  
>"We're here."<p>

I waited for Ivy to climb the last few steps. She was tired from the uphill hike, but I had traversed these steps so many times to try and join the Guild that it was simple for me. I took a deep breath as she took in the surroundings.

I started to speak. "Scary, isn't i—"

"Wow…cool!" Ivy exclaimed softly. I blinked. She was taking in the surroundings with great enthusiasm, as though it were the most fascinating place in the world. And it just might have been, to her.

"Yeah…uhm." A drop of sweat rolled off my cheek. "Well, it's kinda scary. I tried to join many times, but there's especially icky part…"

Ivy almost stepped on the grate before turning to look at me. Another sweat drop from me. "What's the…icky part?" Ivy repeated hesitantly. I shuddered.

"I'll show you." After a couple deep breaths, I focused on the grate, Ivy watching with confusion. There was someone watching now. I had to be strong.

In the nighttime air, the fiery torches gave me long shadows as I stepped onto the grating.

"POKEMON ALERT! POKÉMON ALERT!" a voice yelled from under me, just like last time. It took my whole being to not jump, run away, and hide at home.

Another voice yelled, "Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"

The first voice screamed back, "The footprint is Shinx! The footprint is Shinx!"

I heard nothing for a few moments, and turned to Ivy, who looked genuinely surprised. I was about to make a sly comment when the second voice yelled up to me, "Hey, you! WE know you got a friend! Have them step on the GRATE!" I moved over, and Ivy cautiously stepped on the grate, flinching when the voice yelled up the same words.

"POKÉMON ALERT! POKÉMON ALERT!"

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"

Ivy whimpered at the loud voices that were probably damaging her eardrums. But something was said that didn't seem quite right.

"Uh...the footprint is uh...Chikorita, maybe?"

"What do you mean, MAYBE? It's your job to know the footprints of the Pokémon, RIGHT?"

"Well, uh yeah, but...Chikorita aren't very common around here..."

"...Whatever. Alright, they sound good enough! Open the gate!"

The gate that represented Wiggly's mouth on the teepee groaned as it opened upward. I shrugged at Ivy as explanation for the footprint confusion, but I was actually trembling feverishly. Could I actually be joining the guild? Wigglytuff's Guild? It was like a dream…an exciting but scary one!

Ivy knew what was going on. I could see it on her face. But I really noticed it when she put a leg across my shoulder, giving me a comforting look. Anyone else, and I might've been even more nervous. But Ivy's gentle smile calmed me down. We went inside the dark teepee, just barely able to make out the ladder we promptly descended down.


	3. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

We descended down the ladder to find that the room was actually nice and bright. Pokémon from all sorts of exploration teams were mingling around. It was a sight to behold! Ivy was also looking around in amazement. Quite a few were gathered around what seemed like bulletin boards. As we walked, I peeked at one- it was a Caterpie sending for a rescue. We were really in the center of the action! How amazing! Then a bird-like Pokémon came out to us. "My name is Chatot. We don't accept solicitors, now skedaddle." 

"Wait, we're not selling anything!" I said hurriedly.

Chatot squawked. "Oh, really? Then what could you possibly want with us?" 

"We want to start an exploration team..." Ivy quietly said from behind me. Chatot looked at her as though he had just noticed she was there.

"Oh, why didn't you just say so from the beginning?" 

"Because you didn't let us!" Ivy giggled, though soft enough so Chatot wouldn't hear. 

"Well, let's get you all signed up, alright then? Squawk!" He quickly went down another ladder, and we followed in a rush. 

Chatot was standing in front of a door to another room, and we ran over to him. "Squawk! This is the Guildmaster's room. You must be COMPLETELY RESPECTFUL!" Then he rushed in, leaving us to chase after him again.

We saw a pink, fluffy Pokémon sitting in the center of the room, between two torches. Everything was awkwardly silent for a moment, and then he whirled around to us- "HELLO! HI HO!" I gave Ivy a strange look.

"Are you Guildmaster Wigglytuff?" I asked awkwardly. 

"Yes, that's me! Friendly friends!" Wigglytuff said, putting a really good looking Apple on his head and bouncing it on his head. Ivy and I looked at each other, smirking. This was the Guildmaster? He was a big-time DORK! 

"Ahem...Guildmaster, these two are signing up to become an exploration team..." Chatot said from the side. Wigglytuff stopped bouncing his Apple.

"Really~? Cool, friends! Let's get you signed up!" He started munching on his Apple. "Ift thift all you team mebwes?" 

"He said, 'Is this all your team members?'" Chatot explained to us. I looked at Ivy, shrugged, and nodded. 

Wigglytuff swallowed. "Alrighty then! What's your team name~?" 

"Team...name?" I said. "We hadn't really thought of one...what do you say, Ivy?" 

Ivy looked deep in thought, then brightened. "Team Dazzle!" she announced proudly. 

"Hmm...Team Dazzle? Yeah...I like that!" I agreed with her. 

"Team Dazzle then, my friendly friends~!" Wigglytuff announced, placing a box in front of us. 

"Huh? What's this?" I asked, poking at it. 

"That is your Exploration Team Starter Kit," Chatot piped up yet again. "Go on, open it." 

I pried open the lid to find an assortment of goodies! There was our exploration team badge, our Treasure Bag so we could have lots more items, and a beautiful pink bow. I put all the stuff in the Treasure Bag. 

"Thank you..." Ivy said shyly to Wigglytuff, who nodded.

"Anything for friendly friends~!" 

"Come with me, you two. I'll show you to your room." 

I exchanged looks of glee with Ivy as we were shown to a room at the end of a corridor. We were shown into a small, simple room with two grass beds. Somehow, those beds made it finally feel so...real. "HOORAY! WE GET BEDS!" I shouted eagerly, and then was embarrassed, seeing Chatot's irritated look and Ivy's confused one. 

"Morning announcements are early tomorrow morning, so go to sleep soon," Chatot told us, then hurried away. 

"I'm so excited...how will I be able to sleep?" Ivy giggled to me. I nodded in agreement.

"We'll be staying up all night!" We climbed into our beds, still laughing about our hyperactivity.  
>About two minutes later, we were both already fast asleep.<p> 


	4. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I was fast asleep, in a dream the involved me, Chatot and lots of cookies. I'm not going to tell you the whole story, though. Now you have something to think about the next time you're bored.

All of a sudden, I was awoken by thunder. Wait...that's not right. More like thunderous screaming. I had some things to say to this guy- how do you scream so loud? And furthermore...I'M SLEEPING HERE!

"Nngh..." I groaned, rolling onto my back. I was face to face with a Loudred.

"Wake UP! It's MORNING!" he shouted. He had been the second voice under the grate yesterday. He must be a guild Pokémon.

"Five more minutes, mommy..." Ivy muttered from the bed next to me, pulling more grass over herself. Loudred yelled again, and I covered my ears as Ivy jumped out of bed, startled.

"I'm not going to be late because YOU two LOONS slept in!" Loudred said, rushing away. Though still dizzy, I jumped up in realization.

"WE SLEPT TOO LATE!" I exclaimed, and dragged the sleepy Ivy through the corridor. All the guild members were assembled in front of the Guildmaster's room. We slipped into their formation.

Chatot announced, "Ahem! It seems everyone has finally arrived. Guildmaster, you may come out now!"  
>There was an awkward silence, and then Wigglytuff burst out of his room, startling Ivy, who was half asleep.<p>

"Yoomtah! What're the rules of explorers, everyone?" 

We listened as the guild chanted,  
>"1. Don't shirk work!<br>2. Run away and pay!  
>3. Smiles go for miles!"<br>Guildmaster Wigglytuff exclaimed to the enthusiastic guild members, "Alright, let's have a great day of exploring!"

"HOORAY!" 

As the guild members scattered, Chatot came up to us. "Have you all seen the Bulletin Board?" 

"Bulletin Board?" I asked. Then I remembered the crowded boards with the request for help on it. "Is that where we get our missions?" 

"Yes, exactly! ~" Chatot sang. "This makes explaining simpler for me. Shall we go check out the boards?" 

"Sounds good!" I chirped, Ivy simply nodding. We followed Chatot up the ladder, to a board on the right of the ladder. It was much less crowded up here than it had been yesterday, most likely because it was early morning.

Chatot said, "Let's see here...ah, this looks good! A Spoink lost its pearl in a bluff. Can you find it?" 

"Uh...uh..." I stuttered. God, I was such a wimp! It was just getting a pearl...why was I so nervous? 

"Are you okay, Rito?" Ivy asked me quietly. Sometimes I could forget she was there, she was so quiet.

"Y...yeah..." I said, trying to build up my confidence. "I...I think so..." 

I saw Chatot give me a strange look, and stuck my tongue out at him when he turned back to the board, earning a giggle from Ivy. "Will you please be serious?" Chatot said, turning back to us as I stopped sticking my tongue out. I discreetly rolled my eyes at him as he read from the paper, "My name is Spoink. I lost my pearl at a nearby bluff, but the Pokémon there are too tough for me! I so love my pearl, please get it back, it is at the bottom of Drenched Bluff. Thank you!" 

Ivy smiled and nodded. "Sounds good to me." 

I nodded nervously. "Right, yeah, good..." And, with me trembling like crazy, we headed to Drenched Bluff.

Before I knew it, we were in the wet bluff. It was filled with water-type Pokémon, which Ivy and I both had an advantage over. I even learned Thundershock! Ivy learned a mere Growl. Despite my superior move set, Ivy led the way, knocking out most of our enemies. We collected more Blast Seeds and Oran Berries, along with status-healing berries like Cheri Berries and Pecha Berries. Ivy boosted all her stats with the Pink Bow Wigglytuff gave us, and we found a Special Band for me. As we got deeper, I grew a couple more levels, flaunting my Special Band proudly. 

It had seemed to be perhaps just a mere hour by the time we got to the end, though it had to be more. We looked around in the soggy rock, when Ivy called to me, "Rito! Over here!" 

I walked over to her to find a beautiful pink pearl glistening in a puddle. I picked it up and put it in a separate compartment of the Treasure Bag. "Well, let's go back." 

We used our badge to send us to the beginning of the dungeon, and started to walk back to the Guild. I watched Ivy, who was right now my closest friend, despite having met her yesterday. She was so calm and collected. Right then and there, I decided that our friendship had to be built on trust. So... 

"Ivy?" 

"Hmm?" 

"I know I said this before, but now I mean it." 

"Mean what?" 

"I believe that you are a human turned Pokémon and that you lost your memory. I also believe you are my friend that I can trust." 

She was silent for a moment, then turned to me and gave me a simple smile, then continued walking. But to me...that smile meant the world.


	5. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

I was lighter than air as we trampled into the guild as the sun was setting, despite my aching paws and being covered in mud. Heading down to the Bulletin Board, we saw a pearlless Spoink. And let me tell you, the look on his face when we handed him his pearl erased my fatigue, replacing it with the feeling of rainbows. Wait, I don't think rainbows are a feeling. Ah, I don't care, I just felt much happier than I had been lately. 

"Oh, thank you, Team Dazzle! This is too nice of you!" I looked to Ivy, who looked embarrassed, then turned to the Spoink. "Why of course, my good man! The heroic Rito and his beautiful sidekick, Ivy, are always glad to be of assistance to someone in need!" Ivy rolled her eyes. "I'm the sidekick? I don't think so," she giggled. Poor Spoink looked to us in confusion, not knowing what was going on. I laughed nervously to the Spoink, "Err...she's right, I don't really do too much." 

Spoink laughed. "You guys are funny. Well anyways, here's your reward, a Grass Gummi and 2000 Poke." He dropped a gummi and a ton of money to the ground. While Ivy looked at it awkwardly, probably not knowing its worth, I gasped and marveled.

"We get ALL THIS MONEY?" I exclaimed eagerly. 

"Uh, no." a voice came from nowhere, causing me to shriek a little and jump. Ivy giggled as the snotty Chatot stepped in front of me and took most of the money.

As I gaped in horror, Chatot smirked and sang, "The Guild gets ninety percent of your earnings, the cost of being an apprentice~" 

Ivy stuttered, "Th-that's mean..." and I nodded in agreement. Spoink bounced off happily with his pearl, and Chatot showed us where to get washed up. I got out of a shower to find Ivy drying herself in light streaming from a window. I lay beside her, and it was silent for a bit. 

"...Rito." 

"Yes?" 

There was an awkward silence as I waited for Ivy to talk. 

"...I'm so scared." 

I opened my eyes and looked at Ivy. She hadn't moved and her eyes were closed, but more tightly, with tears beading at the edges. "Why are you scared?" I asked, scared for her. 

"You know...turning into a human, losing my memories...I hate it." 

"Oh..." I didn't really know how to comfort her, so instead I pulled out the Grass Gummi we got from Spoink. "Here, you're a grass type, so you'll love this." 

She took a bite, but instead of the small, shy smile she would sometimes give, she spat it out. "Bleck, that's gross!" 

Bewildered, I cocked my head, saying, "You...don't like it?" 

"No way..." she said disgustedly, and then giggled. I smiled; at least she was in a better mood. 

A Pokémon came from a corridor across from the bedrooms. "I'm Chimecho," she said, smiling to us. Then she called out to the rest of the guild, as we had all been relaxing in this big room, "Okay, dinner's ready! C'mon, everyone!" 

Cheers went out from around the room, including Ivy and I, and we all pushed and shoved into the mess hall. We sat at the long table across from a Vulpix with a green bow and a Pikachu with the tips of her ears maroon instead of black. As everyone got settled, I warmly greeted them. "Hi, my name's Rito, and this is Ivy and we're Team Dazzle!" Ivy stuttered out a shy "hi". 

"HELLO!" the Vulpix exclaimed rather loudly, getting an irritated look from the Pikachu. "My name's Ebet this is Kata we're Team Swift NICE TA MEETCHA!" Kata looked embarrassed of her, and I just laughed while Ivy looked on awkwardly. This Ebet was a bit odd, but...louder is better, right? 

The food was served, ending our conversation rather abruptly as everyone chowed. It was simple but delicious, and Ivy clearly liked it better than that Gummi. In fact, she had a Purple Gummi and loved it, despite how Grass types hated Purple Gummis usually. 

After satisfying ourselves, we headed into the main room to continue talking with Ebet and Kata. Kata seemed super smart, while Ebet was real enthusiastic and had strong willpower. I was really impressed with Ebet's apparent determination when Kata whispered to us that Ebet was blind, hence her gray eyes. All in all though, despite being all girls, I had made friends with explorers that could show us the ropes. 

We eventually said goodnight and Ivy and I headed back to our room. We tucked ourselves in, and all was quiet, until I decided to speak up about today. 

"When I saw Spoink's face...I was elated. Did you feel the same way?" 

I got no response. 

"Ivy? You awake?" 

Still nothing. 

"Ok, well, goodnight..." 

As I was falling into the sea of dreams, I just barely heard the words, "Yeah, I know..."


	6. Chapter 7

Chapter 6 I woke up yet again to Loudred's booming voice. I yet again dragged Ivy down the hall. After meeting up with Ebet and Kata and chatting for a bit, the morning began. This time, Ivy and I chanted along with the Guild as best we could:

"1. Don't shirk work!  
>2. Run away and pay!<br>3. Smiles go for miles!"

"Alright everyone, go to work!" Chatot cheered to the Guild.

"HOORAY!"

Everyone dispersed, and Chatot flew over to our little foursome. "Ah, Kata and Ebet! Lovely to see you ladies again!" He seemed more fixated on Kata while saying this, who just folded her arms and rolled her eyes. Chatot stepped back a bit. "Well, yes, as I see you've befriended Team Dazzle, I was going to ask if you could show them around Treasure Town. "

Ebet squealed. "Yeah, of course! That'd be fun, okay, Chatot!" I exchanged looks with Ivy, then broke into muffled laughter.

Chatot cleared his throat. "Well, yes, that'll be all. Have a good day, and all that. Goodbye Ebet, Team Dazzle...Kata...Squawk!" Then Chatot wandered away.

I couldn't resist. "Ooh, Kata, looks like someone has a bo-oyfriend~!" I teased. Kata shot me a death glare.

"Really Rito, you're so childish. I hate Chatot," Kata mumbled. Ebet rolled her eyes at Kata.

Ivy looked confused. "But Chatot's nice! Why do you hate him?"

Kata held her hand up. "Don't wanna talk about it," she said abruptly, and headed up the ladder to town quickly. Ebet, trailing behind, turned to Ivy and I and mouthed the words, "Tell you later." Then she chased after Kata, us following suit.

We headed down the cliff and instead of continuing south to the beach, we headed west through a short path of trees. On the other side was a busy, bustling town. Ivy looked around in amazement. "Wow...lots of Pokemon!" she exclaimed, turning this way and that. Ebet, who couldn't even tell left from right in town, started chatting with a local Urasring and Teddiursa. Meanwhile, Kata showed us around.

"Right as you walk in you have Duskull Bank to your right. If you faint during a mission, you lose your money, so store it here not to lose it. A bit ahead and you'll find the homes of many village Pokemon, and down to your left are Chansey Day Care which handles any eggs you find, and Marowak Dojo for training at will. Electivire's shop is right next to the houses; he'll combine moves with linking. But he's not here today."

Something went off in my brain just then; I remembered the rest of the shops from visits in the past. "I know the rest," I said to Kata, pointing way down towards more buildings. "Down there on your right is Kecleon Shop, where the two Kecleon brothers sell exploring essentials. Always go there before an exploration. Right next to it is Kangaskhan Storage, which stores any important items that you don't want to get lost or stolen on missions. Below that is Xatu Appraisal, I think he helps you open boxes or something, but he's not there either. Finally, at the lonely edge of town is Sparpedo Bluff, which you can see from the Beach."

Ivy giggled nervously. "That's a lot to remember...I hope I get lucky."

Kata and I laughed along with her. "You'll get used to it," Kata promised. "C'mon, let's go buy some things at Kecleon Shop." After Ebet said goodbye to her friends, we all headed to Kecleon Shop.

"Welcome to our shop!" the Kecleon brothers exclaimed at its latest customers, as was their tradition. I scanned the shelves and bought a couple of Gummis, an Oran Berry, and a Reviver Seed, which revived a fallen team member. Ivy was right-it was all hard to remember. Kata and Ebet bought from the purple Kecleon, who sold really expensive stuff that I couldn't even begin to think of buying. How lucky we were to have such experienced (and rich) friends!

We finished up our little shopping trip and stepped away, when a Marill and Azurill stepped up to the shops. The Kecleons looked pleased.

"Ah, the little Marill and Azurill brothers! How are you boys doing?" the green Kecleon asked.

"Just fine, Mr. Kecleon, sir!" Azurill chirped.

"We need an Apple, please, Mr. Kecleon!" Marill asked.

"Well of course, my little ones! Here you are!" the Purple Kecleon exclaimed, handing Marill a paper bag with an Apple presumably inside of it.

"Thank you!" Marill and Azurill exclaimed at the same time.

"Now all we need to do is find our Water Float!" Marill exclaimed, and ran off.

"Water Float?" Ivy asked as the brothers faded into the crowd.

"It's a very rare item for the Azumarill evolution line," Kata told her.

"Ah, those boys are as fine as always. Their mother is sick, you know, so they are responsible for housekeeping and all that," the purple Kecleon told us.

"Wow, really?" I said, raising an eyebrow. "What amazing little kids." Everyone nodded their agreement.

Suddenly, the brothers tore back to the shop yet again. "Mr. Kecleons, you gave us two Apples!" Marill exclaimed.

Green Kecleon laughed. "Well, you can keep it, you two are just such nice boys," he said.

"Wow, thanks so much!" the boys said simultaneously. Marill ran off, and Azurill started to go as well but dropped an Apple. Ivy smiled slightly and handed it to Azurill.

"Thanks so much, miss!" Azurill exclaimed and ran off. Ivy did not respond; in fact, she looked rather dizzy. She suddenly shook it off and asked us, "D-did you all just hear somebody scream?"

We gave her strange looks. "I have good hearing, but even I didn't hear anything," Ebet said.

"Maybe you're overexerting yourself. Go to bed early tonight," Kata said, putting her hand on Ivy's shoulder.

Ivy muttered, "Alright..." but seemed mostly lost in thought. We walked around aimlessly, just familiarizing ourselves with the town and its inhabitants. We were about to get a new mission from the Bulletin Board when we passed by the Marill brothers talking to a Drowzee.

"Oh! Mr. Rito! Miss Ivy! Look, Mr. Drowzee is going to help us find our Water Float!"

"Really? That's great!" I told the brothers, Ivy nodding in agreement.

"Heh heh. I always like to be of assitance," Drowzee said with a grin. "Come boys, let's go to Mt. Bristle, I know we'll find it there." He started to head off with the brothers, but bumped shoulders with Ivy in the process. "Oops! Excuse me, Miss," he said before taking leave.

Ivy again did not respond, looking dizzy again. I tried to snap her out of it, but only a few seconds later she did, looking horrified. "O-oh my Arceus!" she exclaimed.

I stared at her. "What's wrong, Ivy?" I questioned.

She then proceeded to tell me she had had some sort of vision where Drowzee had been threatening Azurill on Mt. Bristle! "Really?" I asked her. "But that Drowzee seemed nice..." I looked towards where Drowzee had left with the brothers, then laughed. "You must really be tired, Ivy. Let's choose an easy job for you today." Ivy looked offended, but didn't object. We made our way back to the Guild and to the right Bulletin Board.

"Hmm, let's see, taking out criminals I guess? Let's see what we can do," I told Ivy, before an alarm went off over our head. We stepped away from the board, panicking. Then the board flipped over!

"Gah! What happened?" I asked Ivy, who just shook her head with a bewildered look. The guild Sunflora giggled as she stepped up to us.

"Dugtrio is updating the outlaws on the board, that's his job," Sunflora said. On cue, the board flipped over, with new pages. But right in the middle was a big picture of a notorious outlaw. It was none other than...

"Drowzee!" I exclaimed in amazement. Suddenly all of what Ivy said made sense! There was no time to make sense of it, though. With a fierce look in my eye, I said to Ivy, "Let's go!" With equal fierocity, Ivy joined me as we ran to Mt. Bristle, leaving a confused Sunflora behind.

We arrived at the foot of Mt. Bristle. Immediately I noticed Marill staring up at Mt. Bristle, back to us.

"Hey! Marill!" I called out to him.

Marill turned to us, and I could see tears streaked his face. "Oh, Miss Ivy, and Mr. Rito! Please help me! Drowzee tricked us!"

"Don't worry, we'll save your brother, Marill!" I assured Marill. "C'mon, Ivy!"

We headed into Mt. Bristle.

There were plenty of rock and ground types here- GAH! I suffered through this. Ivy rolled her eyes plenty of times, taking out the majority of enemies while I survived by the skin of my teeth and any Oran Berries we picked up. At least I got experience from whoever Ivy defeated. Any bird Pokemon we encountered on the way were defeated by me. It was hard, but we made it to the peak, even with a couple Oran Berries left.

"I can't fit through that hole! Get in there and steal the treasure for me!" I heard Drowzee yell.

"N-no! That's not ours, we can't steal it!" Azurill's shrill voice pierced our ears.

"Well then...I guess I going to have to do away with you!" Drowzee exclaimed, heading towards Azurill.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Drowzee looked towards us, and exclaimed angrily, "You two! How did you find me?"

Instead of responding, Ivy cried angrily, "You're not going to hurt Azurill!" With a flick of her leaf, she released a new move- Energy Ball. Azurill shrieked and ran out of range, and it struck Drowzee in the stomach.

"Why, I oughta...!" Drowzee exclaimed, and used Psychic on us. Ivy screeched in pain-an impressive amount of damage inflicted on her despite being a grass type. Though I doubted that more and more each day...

"Rito, keep your head in the game!" Ivy cried at me as she Tackled Drowzee. I snapped out of it, nodded, and fired off a nice Thundershock. Lucky us, he was paralyzed! We went off a bit, until the effect faded and Drowzee attacked us with a close range Psychic. The match could still go either way. Despite this, though, I was losing hope. He was our strongest opponent yet!

But the worries faded as Ivy bravely stood back up and Tackled Drowzee- who caught her mid-Tackle and tossed her to the ground. She was almost out. I growled at Drowzee, "You're not allowed to hurt her!" Then, with all my might, I charged up my last Thundershock-which was blue! The extra-power Thundershock struck Drowzee head-on and he fell to the ground, unconcious.

Ivy struggled to her feet. "We...we did it, Rito!" she cheered weakly.

I helped her walk. "You were amazing, Ivy," I said happily.

"S-so were you."

Grabbing the Exploration Badge, I teleported me, Ivy and Azurill out of there.

We were at the Guild, getting a hefty reward from Sheriff Magnezone and the two deputy Magnemite. Even after Chatot took his part, we had 200 Poke, a Yellow Gummi for me and a Purple Gummi since apparently Ivy loved those. We also got another Reviver Seed-yes!

"Bzzt! It is impressive that rookies managed to catch Drowzee! Bzzt, how did you know where he was?" Magnezone asked us.

"Actually, Ivy had some sort of vision of the future!" I exclaimed proudly. Ivy blushed.

"I-it's true...I don't know why, but I had dizzy spells, then saw the future..." Ivy rambled, not knowing what to make of it.

Magnezone just shrugged. "You'll figure it uot in due time, bzzt! Thank you for your cooperation, bzzt!" Then Magnezone left, his deputies and Drowzee in tow.

Then once again we were confronted by Chatot. He looked pleased. "Wonderful job, Team Dazzle! You've been here two days and are already doing great things! I'm certain that you will be great explorers!" I grinned, while Ivy blushed red.

After a shower, we both met on the lower floor. Surprisingly, we had been early, and not many other guild members were here. We sat down and chatted, laughing about crazy theories of her seeing the future and how she became a human. Her laugh was soft but merry, an adorable little giggle. I felt elated every time she laughed at a joke I made.

Some time later Kata and Ebet joined us, and we shared our story with them. They were both very impressed at our rookie skill. Ebet joked, "If this isn't a case of beginner's luck, I don't know what is!" We continued to chat until dinner, with one hilarious scene where Chatot came by to flirt with Kata. Though Kata vowed us all to secrecy as to why Chatot has a slap mark on his right cheek.

Dinner was as great as it had been last night. Everyone shared their stories for the day, and many congratulations came for our story. Everyone was so nice, it was amazing to be there, to truly be a part of this. With Ivy by my side, who blushed at the praise, I felt lighter than air, as I had been yesterday. Was exploring always like this! Count me in for life!

It was saddening when the day finally came to an end, though I looked forward to what tommorow would bring. I said goodnight to Ivy and watched as she climbed into bed and closed her beautiful red eyes. Wait, did I just say "beautiful"?

Then it hit me. Her bravery, shyness, and the mysteriousness of her being...I was enchanted. The strange Chikorita that I had known for three days...I had a major crush on her. 


End file.
